Omniscient POV
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Alexander, Velvet, and Weiss stood their ground in front of the path leading to the air docks, and Teddy and Zwei played behind them, cheering them on against the squadrons of Atlesian Knights swarming the plaza.
Gliding back and forth like a figure skater on ice, Weiss decapitated several androids with the grace and elegance of a ballerina, while Alexander hacked, slashed, and pummeled them into junk.
"Leon!" Velvet bolted to him. "Boost!"
Alexander ducked, set Tereo over his head, and Velvet trampolined off the shield, summoning a hard-light copy of Merry Outlaw.
From up high, she drew back an arrow and released a rainstorm upon the androids.
A pair of Paladins rumbled into the plaza from around Beacon Tower.
Velvet loosed an arrow and shackled the legs of one Paladin in a flash of ice. Summoning a copy of Rex, Velvet whipped it at the trapped Paladin, reeled herself to it, and impaled it with Red Fury and Yellow Fury between the gaps of its armour, fire and lightning erupting out its back.
The Paladin jerked and twitched as it tried to swat her.
Velvet brandished a copy of Tyrannus, lodged a bullet in its hand, flipped away, and flicked the switch. The Paladin's hand blew up. It staggered and more bullets lodged themselves into the Paladin's wounds until the revolver clicked.
Velvet walked off and flicked the switch once more, blasting the Paladin to smithereens in a roaring cloud of fire and smoke.
The other Paladin battled Alexander.
Alexander dipped and dived, doing his best to avoid getting too friendly with the Paladin's giant metal fists at all costs, but the Paladin changed a hand into a gun and unloaded every round. Forced to take cover behind Tereo, Alexander held tight while the Paladin poured it on and stomped close enough to hammer him to the pavement. Alexander groaned, rapidly blinking to clear his hazy eyes, and when his vision returned, he was greeted by the Paladin, fist cocked and ready to crush him into dust.
Velvet slid between them, hard light Dust shimmering around her.
A helmet appeared, one that allowed her bunny ears to stick out, and a copy of Tereo completely covered her body.
The Paladin slugged the shield. Velvet buckled from the blow, every hit rattling her to the bone. She stayed strong until her legs gave way, and she dropped to a knee.
Alexander jumped beside Velvet, locked their shields together, and when the next blow came, the Paladin's fist rebounded off their shields, leaving them unfazed.
Nodding at each other, Velvet and Alexander withstood everything the Paladin had to offer.
After cleaning up all the androids in the plaza, Weiss growled at the Paladin bludgeoning her comrades, her pale cheeks reddening as she mentally scolded herself not being able to provide aid sooner, so she gathered the last bits of strength left in her and surged towards the Paladin.
A summoning glyph conjured behind her. A large, armoured arm came out of it, wielding a sword as big as the Paladin itself, and with a single swing, it cleaved the machine in half.
Weiss gawked at the sword, and Velvet and Alexander shared a small laugh as they banged shields.
"Help!"
All was well until Blake fumbled into the plaza, crying out as loud as she could and barely able to carry Yang in her arms any longer.
"Someone, help!"
The three zeroed in on them and wasted no time running over, but the sight of her alone, sobbing and holding onto Yang like a fragile piece of glass while drenched in blood, instantly shattered their hearts.
Velvet gagged and turned the other way, Weiss gasped behind her hands, tears quickly brimming in her eyes, and Alexander froze stiff, horror clawing at his face.
"Please." Blake clutched onto Yang's arm. "I. . . I can't. . .."
Alexander snapped out of his stupor first, and to everyone's shock, he used Yang's own belt to tourniquet her arm before covering the wound with ripped pieces of his own shirt.
"This should do for now." Alexander released a shaky breath and double checked his work. "Are you hurt, Belladonna?"
Blake sniffled and shook her head.
"Blake," Weiss said a little louder than a whisper, eyes glassy as if she still couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. "W-what. . . What happened?"
"There was trouble. . . at the dining hall. . ." Blake forced her to speak between breaths. "Stio stayed behind. . . so we could escape. Get as much help as you can!"
Weiss clenched her teeth and did her best not to snap her rapier in half.
"Leon," Velvet avoided looking directly at Blake and Yang, "what are you going to do?"
"Velvet. Schnee. Get them out of here." Alexander brandished his weapons. "Leave the rest to me."
Weiss and Velvet's eyes shot wide.
They both tried to protest, but before their mouths could even open, he raised a hand and stopped them.
"Can either of you honestly say you will be of any help right now?" He stared them down. "Because from what I see: you can't."
A pinch of anger overcame Weiss and Velvet, and their natural instincts made them want to deny it. Then, as they thought about it, it slowly dawned on them how bad in shape and unfit they really were for such a task.
The slabs of stone replacing their legs got increasingly heavier every passing minute, the accumulated damage and the countless amount of times they used her Semblances tonight drained their Aura, and Weiss' Dust pouch was light while Velvet was low on photographs she used to make her copies.
Naturally, Weiss argued, spewing out every reason in the book to convince him to let her go with him.
Velvet shifted her attention over to Blake and Yang, suffering there on the cold, hard, pavement, and then back at Alexander being berated by Weiss.
A wave of calm washed over her, chiseling a sense of focus and understanding on her face, and with a deep huff followed by a couple slaps on the cheeks, she made the first move.
Walking up to Weiss, Velvet gripped her shoulder and pulled her back.
"Let's go." Her words were firm and sharp. "Leave it to Leon."
Weiss went to argue some more but was cut off by the burning intensity never before seen in Velvet's gaze.
Alexander watched Velvet, brow furrowed and head tilted.
"Did you forget about your teammates?" Velvet jerked her chin at the pair suffering on the ground. "Or is leaving them behind so you can get yourself killed more important?"
Groaning her frustrations and shaking from the logic and feelings clashing within her, Weiss caved and whirled towards Alexander.
"You better find Stiofan, alright!" She stabbed her finger in his chest. "Don't you dare show your face to me again until you do. You got that?"
Alexander nodded.
"I'll see at the air docks." Velvet scooped Teddy and gave Zwei to Weiss. "Good luck."
Weiss and Velvet left not a moment later, doing their absolute best to escort Blake and Yang out of there.
-----
Shrieking like spectators wanting a good show, Griffons and Nevermores swarmed the airship.
Ruby buzzed, twirling and slashing Crescent Rose, yet no matter how fast she moved, Neo did a bunch of flips and twists to evade and used elaborate taunts to fuel Ruby's rage.
Ruby stabbed the hull and fired. Neo shattered like glass. Roman appeared behind the illusion and returned fire with his cane. The shot sent Ruby skidding. She ripped a scar into the hull, holding tight to prevent the heavy gales from lifting her off.
"Little Red, Little Red." Roman strolled closer to her and flourished the joy twinkling in his grin. "You are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren't cha?"
"What are you doing?!" She yelled over the winds. "Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!"
He chuckled and nestled the muzzle of his cane over her nose. "That's the plan."
Ruby smacked it before Roman could shoot and leaped at him. Neo intercepted by acrobatically kicking her several times closer to the edge of the airship. A Griffon swooped low. Ruby ducked a second before its talons took her head off.
"But why?!" Ruby threw her arms wide. "What do you get out of it?"
Roman gave her a dumb look and rolled his eyes. "You're asking the wrong questions, Red. It's not what I have to gain. It's what I can't afford to lose."
Ruby charged. Neo vaulted over Roman, booted her, hooked the handle of her parasol on Crescent Rose, and yanked as hard as she possibly could, simultaneously disarming and launching up Ruby.
The scythe stuck to the hull on the opposite side of the airship.
Spinning several times, Neo kicked Ruby off the airship. She latched onto the edge, sheer panic blaring from her face.
The blade hidden in Neo's parasol sprung out from the end, and she pointed it at Ruby, close enough for her to get a clear view of the button on the handle of the parasol.
A locker suddenly crashed and embedded itself in the airship, leaving the three puzzled until it opened and revealed none other than Merry Outlaw.
Neo's breath caught, Roman lost his cool, and Ruby smiled bright as she used the distraction to reach up and push the button on the parasol.
It opened up, and a strong gust of wind flicked Neo far, far away.
Roman tried to grab her. "Neo!"
Cooper popped up beside Roman. "Hiya."
Roman gasped, and Cooper tripped him flat on his back.
"You're done!" Cooper ejected a lightning arrow from his magazine and held it in his hand. "Eat it, Roman!"
He jammed the arrow into his gut, electrocuting him unconscious.
Hauling herself back onto the airship, Ruby tackled Cooper.
"Whoa!" Cooper stumbled, and the scare of falling over screamed from his eyes. "Hold on, love!"
"I'm so glad to see you!" She buried herself into his chest. "But how in the world did you get up here?"
The airship shook.
Regaining his balance, Cooper sighed and wiped his brow.
"I could say the same thing to you." He flashed his devilish grin. "Let's talk about it later. Aye?"
She giggled. "Aye."
A Griffon swooped towards them.
Cooper dropped to his belly, and Ruby used her Semblance to evade and counter kick the Griffon, sending it crashing into the airship's control center which burst in flames.
The airship teetered.
"Grab onto me!" Ruby retrieved Crescent Rose. "We're leaving!"
Waking up, Roman glared at the pair ready to disembark, so he aimed the handle of his cane at them and fired.
The handle sprung like a harpoon and hooked Cooper's throat, reeling him right into Roman's arms.
"Where do you think you're going, Stripes?!" Roman slapped on a sick smile and squeezed Cooper tight. "We're far from done!"
The airship tilted dramatically.
They lost balance and tried to hang on, however, Ruby was the first to fall.
Standing on the blade of her scythe like a pogo stick, she fired downwards and used the recoil of each shot to slow her descent.
All around Vale, the army of machines short circuited.
In the chaotic streets of the city, Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood, who survived the crash and left his uniform in tatters, exposing the literal metal half of his body, paused to catch their breaths and assess the situation.
The removal of the androids served up a feast of relief and joy to everyone still in the fight, and with the White Fang's sudden withdrawal, only one more problem remained.
Grimm.
In the plaza of Beacon Tower, right after Alexander was left alone to find Stiofan, Ruby landed, unable to do anything other than witness the airship explode and crash in the Emerald Forest.
Alexander also watched the airship in shock and turned his concerns towards Ruby sobbing her eyes out.
"Rose?" He knelt by her side. "What happened?"
Ruby desperately wiped her tears and pointed a shaky finger, muttering an incoherent string of words Alexander could barely understand.
However, he did catch two words that told the entire story.
Cooper and airship.
The dots connected, and Alexander recoiled, staring at the pillar of smoke with a newfound terror.
"We can still find him if we hurry, right?" Ruby forced a smile and rapidly nodded at the idea. "Yeah. That's right. Come on, Alex. Let's go—"
"I can't."
The boat of hope keeping her heart afloat sank. "What?"
"Oakwood can take care of himself. We'll worry about him later." Alexander gritted his teeth and wrestled the sickness rising in his gut. "For now, I need to find Ua Binn."
She whimpered. "B-but—"
"The air docks are that way, Rose." He closed his eyes and focused on keeping it together. "Get out of here."
Ruby sat there, speechless and taken aback, while Alexander recomposed himself and passed by her, making a straight line for the dining hall.
-----
Stiofan Ua Binn
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Staring down Adam, Stiofan was prepared for the worst.
It was easy to tell that Adam was a seasoned warrior from his relaxed demeanour alone. His stance had no opening to exploit despite the fact his sword had yet to be drawn. Not a single piece of armour could be seen. Then again, this man's confidence, maybe even arrogance, worked well enough to be a shield on its own.
What about that mask?
Vision must be limited behind those narrow slits, so it'd be no surprise if Adam's peripherals were eliminated entirely—a perfect exploit.
Either way, the work was cut out for Stiofan, a tough challenge that could only be solved by whoever had the stronger will and skillset to overcome the attrition.
A gunshot banged.
Stiofan went on high alert.
The sword ejected from the scabbard, and Adam darted forward, catching his sword and getting Stiofan within range faster than he could take a single step.
In single fluid motion, Adam slashed.
Blocking with Red Fury, the impact of their weapons rippled down his arms and rang like a bell throughout the burning dining hall, and Stiofan thrusted Yellow Fury.
Adam juked aside, sheathing and drawing his sword in blinding succession to unleash a barrage of Aura enhanced slashes that extended his blade's range. Transforming his spears to swords, Stiofan quickly deflected them, and they locked weapons once more, exchanging glares sharper than their own blades.
Stiofan poured Aura into Red Fury and Yellow Fury. Fire and lightning flashed. Adam lurched and covered his mask. Stiofan slashed Adam's sword arm twice, paralyzing it, and he backed against a column.
There!
Stiofan whirled and swung his red spear.
Adam twisted away. The spear marked the column like wet clay. Stiofan jabbed the yellow spear before he could fully recover, but Adam leaned out of the way in the nick of time, speartip scratching his mask, and resorted to pure evasion from then on.
As if Stiofan would allow it.
Sliding across a table, Adam scowled at his paralyzed arm. Stiofan chased him like a wounded animal and went for the kill. Adam kicked a table, flipping it between them, and ducked behind it. Stiofan's long spear plunged through the wood. He ripped it out and gasped at the gun barrel peeking from the hole.
Bullets roared and riddled Stiofan's abdomen and chest. He stumbled, gritting his teeth at the excruciating pain stinging him all over, and scrambled to fix his misplaced senses.
Adam leaped over the table, sword raised above his head, and Stiofan shifted over to avoid being impaled to the floorboards.
The horns on his skull glinted beneath the fiery light, the same as his sword did in his non-dominant left hand.
Stiofan had to finish this now before his Semblance ended.
Sticking to Adam's paralyzed right arm and staying outside his peripherals, Stiofan went back on the offensive, but Adam was agile, constantly turning and keeping him within sight.
Adam swiped at Stiofan's head.
Slipping underneath, the razor edge skimmed Stiofan's hair. Adam lurched a knee at his face. Stiofan spun to safety and swept Red Fury through his legs, dropping Adam. As soon as he hit the floor, he rolled away and punted a chunk of broken stone. Stiofan fired a lightning bolt, obliterating the stone, and it struck Adam directly, sending him flying across the dining hall and crashing into every table along the way.
This was it!
Stiofan hurled Yellow Fury at Adam's prone body laying on a bed of broken wood.
Adam slashed the short spear, deflecting it out of a nearby window, and to Stiofan's grievances, Adam returned to his feet, sword rightfully wielded in his dominant hand. Squeezing all of his agitation into Red Fury, Stiofan lunged and spewed forth a breath of fire. Adam drew his sword halfway out its scabbard and split it down the middle, laughing as he did so, and his body glowed the same way before severing Yang's arm.
As soon as Stiofan ended the inferno, Adam instantly sheathed his sword and cut the air, releasing a wave of energy darker than blood.
The siren of danger yelled at Stiofan to get out of there.
It was too late.
The attack blasted Stiofan out the same window his short spear went through. He thudded hard out on the portico, a teal sheen enveloped his body, and it disintegrated.
Stiofan's heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach.
No matter how much he wanted to believe that didn't happen, the bite of broken glass marking his flesh made it clear he was no longer safe from harm.
Stiofan's Aura was gone.
Glass crunched under Adam's boots as he approached, and Stiofan scraped his hands along the scattered shards to find his spears, nerves shaking and mouth trembling.
Adam stopped far outside of his long spear's range.
Once again, his sword ejected hilt first from the scabbard, and Adam darted.
No time to think.
Stiofan's sights narrowed and locked onto the sword moving in slow motion, his body moved on its own, and he thrusted Yellow Fury, striking the bottom of the hilt before Adam could catch his sword. Stopping in his tracks, Adam gasped, but Stiofan pushed Adam's own sword into his chest, and he whirled, cracking Red Fury across his skull.
Adam's scarlet Aura disintegrated, and his mask clattered to the ground.
Stiofan couldn't help but release a much needed breath of relief.
Grunting and slowly rising to his feet, Adam gave a clear view of his right blue eye and mutilated red left eye.
A thump reverberated deep within Stiofan's very core. Nausea soon followed, and he stepped back, nearly losing the grip on his spears in order to catch the vomit wanting to spill from his throat.
Seared across Adam's left eye were the all too familiar letters SDC.
That wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Stiofan can't accept such an atrocious thing to be true.
All his life, he devoted himself to the SDC. It was his pride and joy to be able to work for such a powerful and prestigious company whom he shared close ties to. Of course the SDC had its fair share of controversies, every business does, but to see something like that with his own eyes. . .
Were those accusations true all this time?
Stiofan gulped and did his best to refocus his blurring vision.
No, this was worse.
"It happened a long time ago," Adam said, unfazed as he retrieved his sword and scabbard. "And from that look on your face, I can tell you finally understand—who it is you really work for."
Clenching the life out of his spears, Stiofan dismissed those words.
The time for talk has long passed, only their actions could speak for themselves now, and both of his spears were ready to scream.
The charade, this argument of wills, had to end at once, no matter the cost.
This was his duty.
Stiofan sprung faster than he's ever done before and flew towards Adam with Red Fury leading the charge.
Adam parried the long spear. Stiofan lost balance. He corrected it just enough to hastily whip forward Yellow Fury. A simple sidestep allowed Adam to slip past the short spear and break past Stiofan's guard. Holding the sword under a microscope, Stiofan prepared to block it from whichever direction Adam wished to attack, yet for some odd reason, the sword never moved, stagnant in his grasp.
In the corner of Stiofan's eye, the side of Adam's mouth twitched as he lowered his head.
Oh.
Brandishing his horns like a pair of daggers, Adam lunged and punched them into Stiofan's gut, ramming him against a column.
Both spears clattered to the ground.
The cries lodged in Stiofan's lungs were blocked by blood gushing up his throat, strangling him as if it were mercy that would end his suffering sooner. Adam pressed his hands into Stiofan's abdomen, flaring an excruciating amount of pain, and he prolonged the torture by taking forever to pull his horns out. Crimson rivers of his own life leaked out of him, like a punctured sandbag slowly losing its worth by the second, and was swiftly replaced by the horrifying notion of the inevitable about to happen.
Raising his heavy head, Stiofan met Adam's gaze.
Wet red streaks ran down his forehead and dripped from his chin, yet it seemed to bother him not in the slightest.
Adam transformed his scabbard into a rifle, muzzle held point blank in Stiofan's face.
The entire world came to a dead stop.
In an instant, the abyss inside the barrel of the gun showed him sharing a final moment with his friends while Lady Weiss and Blake were on either side of him, smiling lovingly as they caressed his hands.
He found comfort in their touch and relaxed.
'So, this is how it's going to be,' Stiofan thought and inhaled the acceptance of what was to come. 'You all have my deepest and most sincere apology. Everyone, Lady Weiss, Blake. . . May we meet again."
Farewell.